December 12 & 13 – The Bishop’s Wife (1947)
(109 min) Bishop Henry Brougham (David Niven), troubled with funding the building of a new cathedral, prays for divine guidance. His plea is seemingly answered by a suave angel named Dudley (Cary Grant), who reveals his identity only to the clergyman. However, Dudley’s mission is not to help construct a cathedral, but to spiritually guide Henry and the people around him. Henry has become obsessed with raising funds, to the detriment of his family life. His relationships with Julia (Loretta Young) and their young daughter are strained by his focus on the cathedral.RSVP on Facebook

December 14 & 15 – The Man Who Came to Dinner (1942)
(112 min) During a cross-country lecture tour, notoriously acerbic radio personality Sheridan Whiteside (Monty Woolley) slips on the icy steps of the house of the Stanleys (Grant Mitchell and Billie Burke), a prominent Ohio family, and insists on recuperating in their home during the Christmas holidays. The overbearing, self-centered celebrity soon comes to dominate the lives of the residents and everyone else who enters the household. He encourages young adults Richard (Russell Arms) and June (Elisabeth Fraser) Stanley to pursue their dreams, much to the dismay of their conventional father Ernest.RSVP on Facebook

December 16 – Miracle on 34th Street (1947)

(96min) The story takes place between Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day in New York City, and focuses on the impact of a department store Santa Claus who claims to be the real Santa. The film has become a perennial Christmas favorite.

The film won Academy Awards for Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Edmund Gwenn), Best Writing, Original Story (Valentine Davies) and Best Writing, Screenplay. It was also nominated for Best Picture, losing to Gentleman’s Agreement. In 2005, the film was selected for preservation in the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant”. The Academy Film Archive preserved Miracle on 34th Street in 2009.RSVP on Facebook

December 17 – It’s A Wonderful Life

(130 min) There’s nothing like seeing this picture on the big screen on a cold December night! Take a trip back to Bedford Falls, where Jimmy Stewart and Donna Reed make their home, and where an angel helps out by showing a despairing man what life would have been like if he had never existed.

Directed by Frank Capra, It’s A Wonderful Life was initially a box office flop but has become one of the most popular (and critically-acclaimed) films of all time.SURPRISE! Before the 7pm screening, David Schroeder will be playing the fantastic Wurlitzer organ and we’ll have a sing along using vintage glass slides (like the one for Jingle Bells pictured)! Arrive early (about 6:30) for this special experience.RSVP on Facebook

The 15-time Oscar-nominated (and 4-time winning) Coen brothers have been so prolific, you could fill the calendar with their films (we wish!). Join us for these four audience favorites. Buy the series pass for $15 and get one movie free! All screenings at 7pm (with a 1pm matinee Saturday).

November 28 & 29 – No Country For Old Men
(122 min) Starring Tommy Lee Jones, Javier Bardem, and Josh Brolin, Fargo tells the story of a Texas welder and Vietnam veteran to whom chance and greed deliver a fate that is neither wanted nor denied; a cat-and-mouse drama set in the desert landscape of 1980 West Texas. Themes of fate, conscience, and circumstance are explored; ones that the Coen brothers have previously explored in the films Blood Simple (1984) and Fargo (1996).

December 2 – Fargo
(98min) Jerry Lundegaard’s inept crime falls apart due to his and his henchmen’s bungling and the persistent police work of the quite pregnant Marge Gunderson.

Fargo premiered at the 1996 Cannes Film Festival where Joel Coen won the festival’s Prix de la mise en scène (Best Director Award) and the film was nominated for the Palme d’Or. A critical and commercial success, Fargo received seven nominations at the 69th Academy Awards, including Best Picture, and won two awards: McDormand won Best Actress and the Coens won Best Writing (Original Screenplay).

December 3 – The Big Lebowski
(117 min) The Big Lebowski stars Jeff Bridges as Jeffrey “The Dude” Lebowski, a Los Angeles slacker and avid bowler. He is assaulted as a result of mistaken identity, after which The Dude learns that a millionaire also named Jeffrey Lebowski was the intended victim. The millionaire Lebowski’s trophy wife is kidnapped, and he commissions The Dude to deliver the ransom to secure her release; but the plan goes awry when the Dude’s friend Walter Sobchak (John Goodman) schemes to keep the ransom money. Also starring; Julianne Moore, Steve Buscemi and John Turturro

The Virginia Theatre is an historic performing arts center and movie palace located in Champaign, Illinois. Owned and operated by the Champaign Park District, the Virginia has been providing entertainment to the community since 1921.